Friday, March 16, 2018

I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharoah and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. -Exodus 14:3-4

The week started out with cold and snow but we're on day number two of beautiful spring weather and even though I'm generally a cold-weather kind of girl, 70 degrees is about to win me over. We only have the good stuff planned for the weekend - guitar lesson for Camden, lunch date for the adults, church on Sunday, and a Crowder concert for the whole family Sunday night. And only one more week until spring break for Brian and the kids!

1. Speaking of breaks, I received permission for a 4-week chemo break. The break would have started immediately but I wanted to delay for a month for no other good reason that I wanted to enjoy the anticipation of a break. Wednesday was the last treatment for cycle 16 (hurray!). Mom and I went to lunch prior to my appointments and then I introduced her to Barista Parlor.

2. Brian experienced another bout of gastritis this past week - something specifically related to stress so spring break can't come quickly enough. The good news is that medicine seems to work quickly for him.

3. On Monday afternoon, we came home to clean laundry and clean sinks thanks to my mom. What a gift! The kids were so cute, especially Camden, who emphatically declared, "she's not doing our laundry!" when I told them she had offered. She received a couple of hours alone in a quiet house and fast internet and we got clean laundry!

4. Our much-used and much-loved espresso machine started smoking this week so we may be putting that excellent Bed Bath and Beyond return policy to work.

5. Fields trips are few and far between once you move past elementary school, so Camden was especially excited to go to the Corvette museum in KY yesterday. And in true sentimental form, he bought himself a little souvenir. Boys and their cars.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

I'm posting late this weekend even though I actually had this written and ready to go. So here's Five on Friday on Sunday. ;)

1. Soccer began with a bang this week. First game (after only 1 practice) was against a much larger school accompanied by cold temps and rain. Camden came away pretty banged up with a swollen eye and missing contact. The team lost 5-0 but were expecting a much more significant loss so I guess it was a win? Kinda?

2. My cold piled on top of chemo had me pretty beat this week, but I'm feeling surprisingly well even after Wednesday's treatment (ETA: cold took a nose dive Sunday). The schedule was too full to do a good job of taking care of myself last weekend, but I have a better plan in place for now. I feel ridiculously proud of myself for taking a walk Thursday afternoon (and ridiculously happy to have felt well enough for a walk).

4. I took advantage of a Plated coupon and signed up for a month of deliveries. Even though the recipes are in the arena of 45 minute prep time, just not having to make a menu and do the shopping is a relief. And the variety will be an awesome addition to dinner; it starts March 17 and I'm really looking forward to it. The other night I made a lemon pasta dish and Camden was so thrilled that it wasn't soup or a casserole that he could hardly contain himself.

5. Weekend plans include finishing up our last week of Galatians at Bible study; we're hoping to go see Black Panther (ETA: yep, saw and loved it) and I would really like to get in a coffee date with Brian (ETA: did not happen). Also, we plan to have Saturday night family dinner at mom and dad's.

Wednesday, March 07, 2018

After a much busier-than-usual weekend in which I had no time to recover from chemo last week, I have been in a funk. Finally caught Brian and Rory's cold from last week and just cannot kick it. I mean, it's only been 3 days, but it feels like forever. I'm headed to Vanderbilt in a couple of hours, and I just want to call in sick. Unfortunately, I have to be much sicker than this to call in sick to chemo. I know I should continue to be grateful for this drug, but mostly I'm just resenting that I need it week after week after week . . .

Last week we celebrated Rory's 10th Family Day. How old does that make me feel? Very, very old. It's hard to count all the ways our lives have changed in these past 10 years. Here's a little video Brian put together 10 years ago, and it's still good. I 100% cried my way through it yet again. These little kiddos have grown up to be big kids and I didn't think I could love them more, but apparently, it's possible.

Over the weekend, the kids participated in our district denominational competition. There are categories in just about every direction you can imagine - Bible, arts, drama, music, etc. Rory participated in Bible memorization, dramatic monologue, and kids choir. Camden participated in Bible memorization, guitar, and vocal solo. I feel like it's important to say that while they did very well, they also had no competition at this level so a truer test of their skill is coming up in April when they will compete at the state level. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over because encouraging practice over the last several weeks and then emotionally supporting their nerves was exhausting (one kiddo - theoldestbutI'mnotnamingnames - in particular is a perfectionist and deals with nerves in a very negative way)

My computer seems to be broken for good and it makes me want to cry a little. For now, pictures are piling up on my big girl camera and I'm hoping to recover what lives on my external hard drive soon.

Friday, February 23, 2018

1. Friday evening my brain MRI was not fun, but uneventful. Tuesday morning bright and early I had a note from the doctor saying the scan was clear. So no answers for the continuing headaches, but it's not cancer.

2. I could not be more proud of Camden, who has graduated to playing in the worship band Sunday mornings. He also leads the teens in a song or two on Wednesday nights. Because he's a perfectionist, he doesn't take as much joy in the music he creates as I would like. One of my greatest hopes for him is that one day he can let go of the drive to be perfect.

3. Basketball ended with a tournament last weekend and sports banquet on Monday evening. Camden's basketball coaches were just great this year, and he improved so much. He has plenty of room to grow, but he's a different player now than 9 months ago. Soccer started up Tuesday, but I can already tell soccer is going to be less strenuous in terms of practice time and number of games. Camden begged to play last year and we said no. He continued to not only beg to play but saved up and paid for the soccer sports fee (in addition to his $78 basketball shoes) so how could we say no.

5. My Friday morning Bible study girls took me out for ice cream this morning to celebrate my recent good scan news. Friday mornings continue to be one of my favorite times of the week. The ice cream was delicious, and if you're local - visit Roll'd Creamery.

(what you don't see is that there were as many kids present as adults)

Olympics have been fun, but I'm ready to reinstate my very early bedtime. Because we don't have cable, most of the coverage available to us has been late night. I've made it until about 10:30, but no later. Even Camden has fallen asleep on the couch a few nights. To make up for it, I've been listening to the Olympic Fever podcast every morning for a recap of the previous days events, and it's delightful to hear two women who love the Olympics the way I used to love the Olympics chat about the highs and lows.

Brian and Camden are attending a men's conference tonight and Saturday, but the weekend is pretty wide open for me. I'll take it!